But you can read about these diversions elsewhere. The Vigil’s attention was captured instead by an article in today’s edition of the British weekly journal the Spectator under the headline ‘The democracy delusion’ by two academics Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas.

The article, basically an advertisement for their forthcoming book ‘How to rig an election’, argues that rigging an election to stay in power now beats not holding them at all.

They say they have criss-crossed the world ‘from Thailand to Tunisia, from Belarus to Zimbabwe’, learning the tricks of the election rigging trade. They conclude ‘the façade of democracy is being turned into a tool of oppression because an increasing number of leaders have worked out how to rig an election – or hire someone to do it for them’.

It cites as an example Azerbaijan’s 2013 elections, when President Ilham Aliyev sought to boost his democratic credentials by launching an iPhone app that enabled citizens to keep up to speed with the vote tallies as ballot counting took place. But those who were keen to try out the new technology were surprised to find that the results were posted on the app the day before the polls opened.

Or how about this wheeze: ‘In the 1998 mayoral election in St Petersburg, the authorities sought to neutralise a rising opposition figure named Oleg Sergeyev. To do this, they found a pensioner and a tram driver who were also named Oleg Sergeyev and stuck them both on the ballot next to the ‘real’ Oleg. Because no photographs appeared on the ballot papers, voters didn’t know which of the three to pick, so the vote got divided three ways, and all the Olegs lost.’

Or this one: ‘In the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, voters in opposition areas were given pens filled with disappearing ink. When officials went to count the ballots, they just found a bunch of blanks.’

Come to think of it, weren’t there suggestions that the disappearing ink trick was done in Zimbabwe in one of our elections?

The writers conclude that, even in the West. few governments consistently live up to their rhetorical commitment to promote democracy. ‘The imperative of striking arms or oil deals and staying in power is simply more compelling than dealing with the messy and murky reality of widespread election rigging.’ (See:https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/03/how-to-rig-an-election/.)

We will have to wait until the book is published on 24th April before we see what they say about Zimbabwe. But the authors will no doubt be aware of President Mnangagwa’s alliance with the military to rig previous elections, using the notorious Israeli company Nikuv. Zanu PF appears untroubled by the popularity of rallies addressed by the MDC’s new leader Nelson Chamisa. Perhaps their confidence is based on knowledge that the elections are already in the bag.

Certainly Mnangagwa has not allowed any real reforms to enable a credible election. Chiefs have been bought as usual, the army is deployed in the rural areas ‘to ensure order’, the electoral commission is supervised by the military, the electoral roll is still to be made available . . .

Mnngagwa’s aim is to present Zimbabwe as a newly liberated country ripe with opportunities for the outside world to exploit. The UK, for one, has shown itself to be a sucker for this. After all, people ask: is Zimbabwe any worse than most countries?

Thanks to those who arrived early to set up by putting up the banners and tarpaulin and who stayed to the end to pack up: Heath Simbarashe Jiri, Rosemary Maponga, Patricia Masamba, Bianca Monicah Mpawaenda, Ulibile Mdlongwa Nkwate and Ephraim Tapa. Thanks to Patricia, Rosemary and Bianca for looking after the front table and to Heath and Ulibile for handing out flyers.

ROHR fundraising dinner for ZimPAP. Saturday 7th April from 6 pm till late. Venue: Zaza’s Restaurant, 108a Whitechapel Road, London E1 1JE. Come and share an all-you-can-eat buffet. Tickets: £25. Contact: Daizy Fabian 07708653640, Heather Makawa 07716391800. All proceeds will go to the Zimbabwe Peace Actors’ Platform which aims to raise money to train civilian peace keepers to educate people in their local communities on their constitutional rights as well as overcoming fear and intimidation during and after the elections.

The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.

Swaziland Protest. Thursday 19th April from 11.30 – 1.30 pm. Venue: outside the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX. King Mswati III is likely to be in the UK for the Commonwealth Summit (19th April is Mswati’s 50th birthday). It is an opportunity to protest about human rights problems in Swaziland and the Commonwealth’s failings when it comes to dealing with the country. The protest is organized by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) and they ask that members of the Zimbabwe and Swaziland Vigils join them.

The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded over the past 15 years as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil for £10. All proceeds will go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe's work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.

Zimbabwe Action Forum meets regularly after the Vigil to discuss ways to help those back in Zimbabwe to fight oppression and achieve true democracy.

Zimbabwe Yes We Can Movement holds meetings in London as the political face of ROHR and the Vigil.

President Mnangagwa’s efforts to present a smiling clean new face to the outside world has been undermined by the inadequacy of his attempt to tackle the corruption that has laid waste to the Zimbabwean economy.

His offer of an amnesty to those illegally holding money abroad has produced little reward and his list of alleged looters has been derided for not including any politicians and officials widely regarded as among the main players in the corruption free-for-all that has characterized the last 20 years.

Mind you, some of the cases mentioned in the press make interesting reading; for instance the Ekusilen medical centre, a specialist hospital in Bulawayo was launched by the National Social Security Authority 14 years ago but has never been operational despite the millions it has sent out of the country.

Anyway, the target set by Mnangagwa to be returned was piffling when Mugabe himself admitted that $15 billion alone had been looted from the Chiadzwa diamond mines. This money disappeared while Obert Mpofu was minister of mines. He is widely believed to be one of the richest men in Zimbabwe, apart from the Mugabe family, Mnangagwa himself and Vice-President Lieutenant-General Chiwenga. Once Mugabe’s ‘most obedient son’, Mpofu, now Home Minister, has transferred his abject devotion to Mnangagwa.

A parliamentary committee was recently told by businessman Lovemore Kurotwi that Mpofu had demanded a $10 million bribe to allow him to mine in Chiadzwa in 2009, although Kurotwi had already won the tender. Not surprisingly, Mpofu refused to answer questions about the matter.

The Vigil is happy to see that our friend Violet Gonda, one of the best of Zimbabwe’s journalists, has been allowed back in the country. She visited her old home in Mutare after an absence of almost two decades to hug her grandmothers, now in their 90s. she says that when Mugabe’s resignation was announced her paternal grandmother called a prayer meeting with neighbours to give thanks. ‘She was crying and saying Mugabe is gone now. Vee can come home now. I will get to see my grand-daughter before I die.’ (See: http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-47165-Gonda+I+returned+to+Zim+a+stranger/news.aspx).

Thanks to those who arrived early to set up by putting up the banners and stayed to the end to pack up: Bianca Monica Mpawaenda, Alice Majola, Pearl Shambare and Jonathan Kariwo. Thanks to Bianca, Pearl and Alice for looking after the front table and to Isaac Chawasarira for handing out flyers.

ROHR fundraising dinner for ZimPAP. Saturday 7th April from 6 pm till late. Venue: Zaza’s Restaurant, 108a Whitechapel Road, London E1 1JE. Come and share an all-you-can-eat buffet. Tickets: £25. Contact: Daizy Fabian 07708653640, Heather Makawa 07716391800. All proceeds will go to the Zimbabwe Peace Actors’ Platform which aims to raise money to train civilian peace keepers in Zimbabwe to educate people in their local communities on their constitutional rights as well as overcoming fear and intimidation during and after the 2018 elections.

The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.

Swaziland Protest. Thursday 19th April from 11.30 – 1.30 pm. Venue: outside the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX. King Mswati III is likely to be in the UK for the Commonwealth Summit (19th April is Mswati’s 50th birthday). It is an opportunity to protest about human rights problems in Swaziland and the Commonwealth’s failings when it comes to dealing with the country. The protest is organized by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) and they ask that members of the Zimbabwe and Swaziland Vigils join them.

The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded over the past 15 years as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil for £10. All proceeds will go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe's work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.

Zimbabwe Action Forum meets regularly after the Vigil to discuss ways to help those back in Zimbabwe to fight oppression and achieve true democracy.

Zimbabwe Yes We Can Movement holds meetings in London as the political face of ROHR and the Vigil.

A much-hyped Zimbabwean investment conference in London this week had to be radically changed at the last minute after a number of Zimbabwean government ministers were unable to get British visas.

The conference was organised by an organisation called Consolidated Africa Services (CAS), which initially listed Finance Minister Chinamasa as among the speakers, along with Industry Minister Mike Bimha, Foreign Afffairs Minister Leiutenant-General Sibusiso Moyo, Agriculture Minister Air Chief Marshall Perence Shiri, Mines Minister Winston Chitando and Tourism Minister Priscah Mupfumira, as well as Central Bank Governor John Mangudya and his predecessor Gideon Gono, now the Chairman of the Special Economic Zones Authority.

Mention of some of these delegates was later dropped from CAS’s website and when Vigil activists gathered early on Thursday outside the conference at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society we were unsure which of them, if any, would turn up. Representatives of the organisers appeared equally unsure when we asked them which ministers would attend.

The usual po-faced executive-type people bustled past a sculpture set into the wall of the building showing David Livingstone (‘discoverer’ of the Victoria Falls). They didn’t give it a glance but they couldn’t miss the Vigil’s banner adorned with posters reading: ‘Reforms before investment in Zimbabwe’, ‘Free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe’ and ‘End corruption and state looting in Zimbabwe’. Most people accepted our flyers, one of which read:

'Beware Zimdaba 2018: Exiled Zimbabweans welcomed the ousting of Robert Mugabe in the military coup last November. But the Zimbabwe Vigil cautions against prematurely embracing the new regime represented here at Zimdaba 2018. They are out for your money because they have destroyed the economy. ‘We are open for business,’ they say. But so far it’s all words. No repressive laws have yet been repealed.

Apart from the addition of a few generals, an air chief marshall etc, the cabinet is made up of the same corrupt Marxist Zanu PF politburo. You do not have to hire ‘experts’ to look into the background of the delegates: simply google them yourselves. You will find, for instance, that the Chairman of the Special Economic Zones Authority, Gideon Gono, was the Governor of the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank when the Zimbabwe dollar was destroyed by record-breaking inflation.

Elections are due by August. Before you consider investing in Zimbabwe, you would be wise to see whether they are judged free, fair and credible. For further information about the situation in Zimbabwe see our book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’, available from Amazon. It features some of the bogus ‘comrades’ you will be meeting at the conference.’

We noticed that, among the people attending the conference, was the former Labour government minister Lord Hain, who in his youth was a notable anti-apartheid activist. The South African newspaper Mail and Guardian has accused him of hypocrisy over his business interests in Zimbabwe (see: http://amabhungane.co.za/article/2018-03-16-lord-hains-zimbabwe-hypocrisy). Lord Hain left the meeting early.

Other points

Thanks to our activists who got up early to attend the Vigil demonstration outside the Royal Geographical Society: Abigail Chidavayenzi, Babula Gwatiringa, Brian Chitate, Cephas Maswoswa, Chido Makawa, Daizy Fabian, Dennis Benton, Elector Zvorwadza, Esther Munyira, Heather Makawa Chitate, Matthew Mpepo, Patience Muyeye, Rose Benton, Rosemary Maponga and Sunit Bagree. There were a couple of valiant journeys: Abigail left Glasgow the night before the demo and messaged us at 7.45 am from the venue – she was to return home in the evening. Elector caught the coach at 3 am from Nottingham to join us. It was good to have with us Sunit Bagree from Action for Southern Africa (previously the Anti-Apartheid Movement). We will be joining him in a protest he has organised against the human rights abuses of King Mswati of Swaziland on 19th April. Check ‘Events and Notices’ for details.

Thanks to the small band who gathered at the Vigil today, particularly: Joseph Chivayo, Chido Makawa, Heather Makawa Chitate, Matthew Mpepo, Margaret Munenge and Ephraim Tapa who set up the Vigil, took care of the front table and packed up at the end. It was snowing when we arrived and still snowing when we left. We had half expected some signs of life in the Embassy given all the people over for the investment conference. They must have decided to stay in bed.

Mugabe’s bleating to the international press about being illegally deposed confirmed our belief that he is delusional, since he blatantly ignored the law when he was in power. His most potent comment came in an interview with the AU representative earlier in which he said there was no possibility of fair elections because the army was in charge.

Mnangagwa was equally silly for declaring Mugabe a National Holiday. While we welcome the new president’s promises of change and reform in his New York Time article, we are alarmed by his comment reported elsewhere that there would be no opening up of the airwaves before the elections.

ROHR general members’ meeting. Saturday 31st March from 11 am – 1.45 pm. Venue: Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Agenda: adoption of the ROHR 2018 programme of action and completion of appointments to the ROHR National Executive Committee.

ROHR fundraising dinner for ZimPAP. Saturday 7th April from 6 pm till late. Venue: Zaza’s Restaurant, 108a Whitechapel Road, London E1 1JE. Come and share an all-you-can-eat buffet. Tickets: £25. Contact: Daizy Fabian 07708653640, Heather Makawa 07716391800. All proceeds will go to the Zimbabwe Peace Actors’ platform which aims to raise money to train civilian peace keepers in Zimbabwe to educate people in their local communities on their constitutional rights as well as overcoming fear and intimidation during and after the 2018 elections.

The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.

Swaziland Protest. Thursday 19th April from 11.30 – 1.30 pm. Venue: outside the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX. King Mswati III is likely to be in the UK for the Commonwealth Summit (19th April is Mswati’s 50th birthday). It is an opportunity to protest about human rights problems in Swaziland and the Commonwealth’s failings when it comes to dealing with the country. The protest is organized by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) and they ask that members of the Zimbabwe and Swaziland Vigils join them.

The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded over the past 15 years as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil for £10. All proceeds will go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe's work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.

Zimbabwe Action Forum meets regularly after the Vigil to discuss ways to help those back in Zimbabwe to fight oppression and achieve true democracy.

Zimbabwe Yes We Can Movement holds meetings in London as the political face of ROHR and the Vigil.

The Vigil marked the third anniversary of the abduction and presumed murder of the human rights campaigner Itai Dzamara. He was an inspiration to us and not long before his disappearance he sent us this message: ‘Your protest is not in vain.’

We are glad to see that Western diplomats in Harare are calling on President Mnangagwa to account for this outrage – one of the many committed by the Mugabe regime from which Mnangagwa must distance himself if he is to justify the welcome he has been given by the hopeful West.

Another decision must be to support the case for the reinstatement of the SADC human rights tribunal, closed at Mugabe’s behest because it ruled against farm seizures. One of the victims, Ben Freeth, speaking in London this week, said that, if Mnangagwa is serious about rebuilding Zimbabwe, he must put in place the right foundations. One step would be to recognise the recent decision by a South African court against former President Zuma’s arbitrary closure of the tribunal.

Like many others, Freeth expressed disappointment at Mnangagwa’s denial of the Zanu PF violence in the 2008 elections when Morgan Tsvangirai was forced to withdraw. It doesn’t bode well for democracy in Zimbabwe.

Freeth expressed alarm at the ‘militarisation’ of the government and of the Zimbabwe electoral commission. He said the new president had done ‘some cosmetic things’ but nothing to change the laws to create an enabling environment for investors.

He went on to warn Britain against a ‘cosy relationship’ with Mnangagwa unless he justified it by his actions and said it was not yet time for the diaspora to return. ‘That time will come. We look forward to that time. But it is not yet.’

Other points

The Vigil is to picket a conference in London beginning on Thursday which will be attended by a number of Zimbabwean ministers led by Finance Minister Chinamasa. They hope to encourage investment In Zimbabwe. We will be there to argue that investors should wait until reforms are in place in Zimbabwe. See ‘Events and Notices’ for further details.

We were joined by campaigners against the sale of Zimbabwean baby elephants to China. The advice from experts is that this causes enormous suffering to these noble animals at their most vulnerable stage of life and is seldom successful. Thanks to Nomusa Dube for organising the protest. Posters showed pictures of caged baby elephants with the words ‘Captivity kills. Help me!’ and ‘This isn’t life. Alone, locked up in a concrete cage.’

Thanks to Patricia Masamba, Netsayi Makarichi and Rosemary Maponga for looking after the front table, to Faith Ndhlovu, Tryness Ncube and Heather Makawa for handing out flyers, to Patricia, Tryness, Nomusa Dube and Thomas Chaplin for putting up the banners and to Heather for taking photos.

Zimbabwe Investment Forum: Zimdaba 2018. Thursday / Friday, 15th / 16th March. Venue: The Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore (corner of Exhibition Road and Kensington Road), London SW7 2AR. A number of government ministers and businessmen from Zimbabwe will be attending. The Vigil will be demonstrating outside the venue from 8.30 – 11 am on Thursday 15th March. An early start is needed for us to hand out flyers to the delegates as they arrive to register. Nearest station: South Kensington – from there you can catch bus 360. For more information on the event, check: www.zimdaba.com.

ROHR general members’ meeting. Saturday 31st March from 11 am – 1.45 pm. Venue: Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Agenda: adoption of the ROHR 2018 programme of action and completion of appointments to the ROHR National Executive Committee. This meeting is rescheduled from the meeting on 3rd March cancelled because of bad weather.

The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.

Swaziland Protest. Thursday 19th April from 11.30 am - 1.30 pm. Venue: outside the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX. King Mswati III is likely to be in the UK for the Commonwealth Summit (19th April is Mswati’s 50th birthday). It is an opportunity to protest about human rights problems in Swaziland and the Commonwealth’s failings when it comes to dealing with the country. The protest is organized by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) and they ask that members of the Zimbabwe and Swaziland Vigils join them.

The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded over the past 15 years as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil for £10. All proceeds will go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe's work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.

Zimbabwe Action Forum meets regularly after the Vigil to discuss ways to help those back in Zimbabwe to fight oppression and achieve true democracy.

Zimbabwe Yes We Can Movement holds meetings in London as the political face of ROHR and the Vigil.

The Mugabes are aggrieved at their treatment by President Mnangagwa. Despite vast government resources devoted to their imperial upkeep, they are angry at being forced to step aside from ruling Zimbabwe. ‘It’s not fair’, Mugabe told the AU. ‘It’s unconstitutional’, calling on the organisation to intervene to reseat him on his presidential potty.

These are strange times in Zimbabwe. Apart from the Mugabes now completely detached from reality, this week a ‘prophet’ produced a ‘goblin’ in a Harare court. The ‘prophet’ was accused of demanding money from passengers on a bus from Binga to prevent a potentially fatal accident. He apparently scared off everyone but was arrested walking to the city centre with the ‘goblin’. The ‘prophet’ unveiled the ‘goblin’ in court – a live tortoise draped in a hyena skin and beads, looking rather like Mr Mugabe, who has long had an interest in goblins and calabashes and such like. Perhaps the tortoise was on his way to see President Mnangagwa (see: http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/prophet-presents-goblin-in-court/).

The Vigil hopes that Mnangagwa will stop moving like a tortoise. Four months ago he insisted that the upcoming elections would be free, fair and credible. He has since repeated this mantra at every stop as he continues Mugabe’s circus of never-ending travel. Now there are only 5 months left before the constitutional deadline to hold the elections.

President Mnangagwa has made a big thing of his willingness to allow EU observers into the country. This is seen as a major step forward because ‘tame’ observers from AU countries and ‘friends’ have shamelessly endorsed repeated election fraud in Zimbabwe. Court-ordered revelations in South Africa, for instance, have shown how damning criticism of election rigging in Zimbabwe was repressed by the Pretoria government.

But the EU takes things more seriously. It’s already late to begin the lengthy process of getting observers from them. As the EU ambassador in Zimbabwe, Philippe Van Damme, explained: ‘The first thing we need is a formal request by the government to invite what we call an exploratory mission which is a mission of experts who will speak to the different stakeholders of the electoral process and assess whether indeed these stakeholders consider these observation missions as useful. They will also assess the feasibility of electoral observation from a security and logistical point of view. And then they will advise us on whether or not an EU electoral observation should be deployed. And then, of course, the final decision will be taken once, based on that mission, the government confirms its willingness to deploy that mission or not.’ (see: https://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2018/02/26/ed-govt-yet-to-formally-invite-us-for-zim-poll-eu).

Apart from inviting the observation missions, there is clearly a lot of work still to be done. We have heard nothing, for instance, about the need to open state-controlled media to the opposition during the election campaign. Time is running out.

Other points

In a landmark ruling, the Pretoria High Court has said that former President Zuma had no power to close the SADC Tribunal in 2012. Mugabe persuaded Zuma to close the court because it had ruled against the seizure of white-owned farms in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe London Investment Forum ‘Zimdaba London 2018’ takes place on Thursday / Friday 15th / 16th March at the Royal Geographical Society. It is bringing together business leaders and investors from the UK and Europe together with a business and ministerial delegation from Zimbabwe, to discuss investment opportunities in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Vigil and ROHR will be demonstrating outside the venue from 8.30 – 11 am on Thursday 15th March. We will be carrying posters and handing out flyers to the delegates with the message that no investment should take place until reforms to ensure democracy (free, fair and credible elections) and human rights have been implemented. For more information on the venue check ‘Events and Notices’.

After a week of heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures and transport disruption, few people made it to the Vigil. Thanks to the valiant few, especially Isabell Gwatidzo, Rosemary Maponga and Ephraim Tapa, who were there from the start to put up the banners and look after the front table. Thanks also to Racqueline Changunda who handed out flyers, Simon Nyanhi who helped pack up at the end and Rosemary for bringing tea.

Save the Zimbabwe elephants protest. Saturday 10th March from 2 – 5 pm outside the Zimbabwe Embassy. One of our activists Nomusa Dube is organising a protest about the export of baby elephants from Zimbabwe to China. She asked to join up with the Vigil on this protest.

Zimbabwe Investment Forum: Zimdaba 2018. Thursday / Friday, 15th / 16th March. Venue: The Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR. A number of government ministers and businessmen from Zimbabwe will be attending. The Vigil will be demonstrating outside the venue from 8.30 – 11 am on Thursday 15th March. For more information on the event, check: www.zimdaba.com.

ROHR general members’ meeting. Saturday 31st March from 11 am – 1.45 pm. Venue: Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Agenda: adoption of the ROHR 2018 programme of action and completion of appointments to the ROHR National Executive Committee. This meeting is rescheduled from the meeting on 3rd March cancelled because of bad weather.

The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.

Swaziland Protest. Thursday 19th April from 1-2 pm. Venue: outside the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX. King Mswati III is likely to be in the UK for the Commonwealth Summit (19th April is Mswati’s 50th birthday). It is an opportunity to protest about human rights problems in Swaziland and the Commonwealth’s failings when it comes to dealing with the country. The protest is organized by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) and they ask that members of the Zimbabwe and Swaziland Vigils join the protest.

The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded over the past 15 years as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil for £10. All proceeds will go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe's work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.

Zimbabwe Action Forum meets regularly after the Vigil to discuss ways to help those back in Zimbabwe to fight oppression and achieve true democracy.

[endif]Zimbabwe Yes We Can Movement holds meetings in London as the political face of ROHR and the Vigil.